Unpeaceful Dreamers
by PoisnousPixie
Summary: When Hotstreak gets two new puppets, and gets a little abusive, can Static and Gear do something or will it be to late? Or is all of this a dream created by two girls on their death beds? Discontinued.
1. The Crash

RNW: hey everyone! This story is a pretty good one, at least I think so. It's Co-authored with my Best Friend, XME.

Note: This is a Hotstreak Basher... Even though that kills me inside, since I LOVE Hotstreak... Anyway! On with the show!... err... Story!

Disclaimer:We don't own Static Shock.

**Unpeaceful Dreamers**

**_Chapter One: The Crash_**

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Jade Tailor sat in front passenger side of her mother's Jeep, her feet propped up against the dash board, while the her body was twisted around, so she could talk to her best friend, Ayanna, who was sitting directly behind her in the back seat. 

Ayanna was leaning forward, and listened intently to Jade's current rant… Which was about Hotstreak from her current favorite show, Static Shock.

"Everyone thinks he's just a bully! But he has a soft side too! You should have seen the look on his face when he told Static about when he was little, and had lived in the hospital for TWO YEARS! It was so sad!" Jade exclaimed, loudly, gesturing wildly with her hands, "He was sssooo adorable looking! Like a little kid that fell and got cut, and you just want to hug them and make it better, but you can't!"

Ayanna smiled back at her. Jade was just TOO cute, especially at the moment, talking about her crushes, and holding a plushy of another. "I'm sure he was, Jay-san. You'll have to record that episode the next time it's on and let me see for myself, ne?"

Before Jade could respond, the car jolted, slamming their heads together. Jade clutched at the back of her seat, and Ayanna braced herself between the back of Jade's seat and the wall, as the car began to swerve out of control.

"Mom!" Jade shouted. She caught a glimpse of her mother passed out against the steering wheel, before the side of the car slammed into the hill beside them. The wall of the car crashed inwards, hitting both sixteen year olds.

The car slid to a stop, after pulling away from the hill…

Jade opened her eyes, which had shut as she braced herself for impact. Having been knocked in the head, she couldn't remember what had just happened, her mind was swimming, and all she could hear at the moment was the ringing in her ears, and the thoughts running through her head, were on what she had been talking about with Ayanna.

"Are you okay?" She heard a voice whisper. She quickly pinpointed it as Ayanna, who was clutching her head. Jade guessed that she had been knocked on the head as well.

Jade nodded her head, and pulled herself away from the car's wall, and looked over at Ayanna, making sure she was okay. Then, Jade remembered her mother. Looking over, her mother was still out. "Mom…"

Jade crawled through the wrecked vehicle, and over to her mother, she shook her mother, and found that she just wouldn't wake up. Panic attacked her, and she froze, thinking of what she should do.

She heard a quiet beeping sound, and turned to look for the source. Ayanna was holding Jade's mother's cell phone, dialing a number. She held it up to her ear, and waited for a moment. "Hello? 911? We were in a car crash… The driver's unconscious and we can't get her to wake up." Ayanna said into the phone.

Jade didn't want to shake her mother, for fear of hurting her more, but the overwhelming urge to do so was slowly getting to her. "Mom, please wake up! Mommy- please!" She said, tears streaming down her face, as she rested her hands on her mother's back.

The woman was pale, and had blood coming from a cut on her forehead…. Jade's entire body shook uncontrollably, as she sobbed.

She wasn't breathing, her mother wasn't breathing! But she couldn't move her! What if something happened, and she made it worse? They had saved her father once, right? They could do the same for her mother. "Please…. Wake up mommy…" Jade whimpered, covering her face with her hands, in an attempt to hide her tears.

Ayanna informed the 911 operator of their location, and hung up the phone. Jade could just barely hear theblonde girl through the ringing in her ears, and the pounding in her head.

Ayanna leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Jade. "I'm sure she'll be fine…" She comforted, leaning her head on Jade's shoulder. "An ambulance will be here soon, and they'll make sure she's okay."

Jade turned into Ayanna's arms, and wrapped her arms around the other girls neck, not quite thinking of how awkward this would look, but rather just of the comfort that Ayanna's warmth was giving her…

By the time the ambulance got there, Jade had calmed down, and was no longer hanging onto Ayanna like she would die if she let go.

The paramedics got her mother out of the car first, and then helped Ayanna and Jade out. While the ambulance rushed to the hospital, the two girls were checked, and the strangely, the worst they had were a couple bruises, and Jade had a couple of ribs bruised, and a long cut on her right arm.

At the hospital, while Jade's mother was taken to the hospital room, Jade got her arm bandaged, and Ayanna called her own mother to let her know what happened…

It turned out that Jade's mother's sugar had crashed, and she had passed out before the girls could notice it…. Though both Jade and Ayanna made through almost unscarred, Mrs. Tailor, Jade's mother, had not made it through the crash….

After the funeral, things were pretty quiet in the Tailor household. Jade spent her time in her room, or at Ayanna's house, while her father got caught up in his work.

With her father working so hard, it didn't come as a surprise when Mr. Tailor got a raise. He, of course, accepted. There was a down point to the job, though- Mr. Tailor would have to move to Dakota City. He was reluctant to drag Jade away from her friends and most of her family, but they needed the money, and he couldn't leave her in Pennsylvania without anyone to take care of her.

Naturally, Jade put up a fight. First, there was the hunger strike, which lasted about three hours, then there was barricading herself in her room, which didn't work cause she had to use the bathroom… Finally, she got down on her knees, and begged. "PLEASE! I can live with Ayanna!"

"Do you really want to live with the Corrins?" He asked, not looking up from his paper work.

Jade paused, as much as she loved the Corrin family, she'd have to kill Charlie and Rachel, and Emma would drive her insane… and Jason creeped her out… "What about Mom-mom? Or Uncle Ray?"

"No." Came a stern reply.

"Why not!" Jade shouted, losing the temper that she normally had complete control of.

"Jade, I have to work, and you need to pack." He stated, ignoring her question.

Jade glared at him, and headed to the stairs. At the foot of the steps, she turned around and said, "I'm never speaking to you again!" with that, she stooped up the stairs, down the hall, into her room, and slammed the door; before turning on the loudest CD she could find, and letting it blast, while she put her head phones on with a different CD.

Jade didn't speak to her father throughout the time of packing, and she avoided him at all costs. But that was easy compared to what she was going to have to do now. She was leaving tomorrow, and she had yet to get the guts up to tell Ayanna.

She knew that Ayanna would probably cry when she told her. After all, Ayanna sometimes cried when Jade left for just a few days, as she tended to suffer from 'homesickness', as she put it. Ayanna had told her more than once that she would probably commit suicide if she went away for good… Obviously, Jade's nervousness was well based on fact.

Jade paced on the front porch of Ayanna's house, while she waited for her friend to come out. '_How am I supposed to put this?' _She thought to herself, "I can't very well just say, 'Hey Neko-chan! How are you today? Good? Great… Guess what! I'm moving to Dakota City half way across the country!'" Jade tried, she shook her head, "No…. that wouldn't work…" She stated to herself, as she fiddled with her gloves.

She was currently wearing a pair of black baggy pants, a pair of black hightops, a short sleeved black shirt with red marks on it- looking like something had clawed through the front of it, and a pair of long fingerless gloves.

The front door opened, and Ayanna stepped out. Her face was tearstained, and she looked miserable, but when she saw Jade she smiled a little and pulled her into a hug. "How about we hide you in my closet so you don't have to go?" She whispered. Obviously, she knew that Jade was leaving.

Jade shook her head, and pulled away, "Can't… As much as I don't want to go, I can't leave my dad alone…. But maybe you can hide in my backpack." Jade joked half-heartedly.

"Yeah… Or maybe you suddenly discovered that you can't POSSIBLY go on the plane without a huge carry-on bag that I happen to be hiding in?" Ayanna joked. "Seriously, though, I wonder if there's some way I could go with you." She said, looking down at the ground as she tugged on a lock of her blond hair.

Jade shook her head again, "I can't think of anything… I'd stay, but I can't… And you would be missed here…" She looked up at the roof, "But we'll still be able to E-mail each other and stuff, right?" She smiled weakly.

The sound of a car horn started behind them, and Jade looked back at her father, who was sitting in his old worn red convertible. She knew he didn't mean to be, well, mean, but they had to hurry and finish packing.

Jade looked back Ayanna, and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, "We'll live through this. No big, right?" She asked.

Ayanna looked at her for a moment. "Jay, I want you to promise me, that whatever happens, you- well, for no better way to put it, you'll stay alive." She told her seriously. "Don't die, okay?"

Jade nodded, "I hate my dad right now, but the last thing he needs is for me to die on him, so don't worry about it. I won't die… I promise." She let out a sigh, "Promise you won't steal money from someone and runaway to Dakota, okay?" She asked, knowingly. She knew the way Ayanna's mind worked, and knew that eventually Ayanna would come up with that idea. "I don't want you to get hurt… Promise?"

"I promise I won't steal from someone and runaway." Ayanna said. Mr. Tailor beeped the horn again, and Jade moved to leave. Before she could, Ayanna pulled her into another hug. "And I'll try not to get hurt." She told her, and then she pulled away.

Jade gave her a slightly confused look, but pushed that aside. She was about to go join her father, when she remembered something. Jade pulled a silver compass out of her pocket, it had been her grandfather's, and was a very special thing, and who better to give it to, than her best friend, right? That is, if you ignore the completely cliché-ness of it…. "Here, take this. Keep it safe for me. It was my grandfather's and I think you should have it now. To remember me, m'kay?"

"Okay." Ayanna whispered. "Not that I would forget you anyway." She pulled a piece of folded up paper out of the pocket of her jeans, and handed it to her, fiddling with the sleeve of her long-sleeved black shirt. "This isn't nearly as special as yours, but it's a forget-me-not thing too… You can open it on the plane, 'kay?" Ayanna told her, half smiling. "Bye, fare thee well, E-mail me when you get there, and all of those things. I'll miss you… Alot-alot." She backed up to the door, then opened it.

Jade nodded, "Yeah…. Miss you too…. And all that…cheesy jazzy junk." She looked over at the car and back to Ayanna, "Sayonara, Neko-chan…" Jade turned and started to walk off the porch and over to her dads car. Her fingers fiddled with the piece of paper that 'Neko-chan' had given her.

"Miss ya, love ya, all that junk." Ayanna said under her breath, turning and walking into the house, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was out of sight of Jade, she leaned back against the door, then slumped down to the ground as her knees gave out. She clutched the compass tightly as she cried.

On the ride home, Jade stared out at the landscapes flashing by, ignoring her father completely, as she clutched the paper, and her Sesshoumaru-sama plushy to her chest.

Mr. Tailor looked at his daughter; she had kept her word, and hadn't spoken to him since their little fight. He knew this wasn't fair to her. She just lost her mother, now she was losing her only two friends, one of which she wasn't going to get to say goodbye too, and she was losing all her family too…. But it was for the best… "This is for the best, you know?" He stated.

Jade's fingers tightened their grip on her toy and paper, but she refused to speak. She sat there, now glaring out the window, biting back the tears she felt threatening to cry. _'"Ho__w could this be for the best? You're destroying my LIFE!" _Jade thought to herself.

"We'll have more money, and you'll be able to make new friends…" He tried.

_"I don't want NEW friends, I like the friends I have, few as they are.'" _Jade reached into her bag and pulled her walkman and headphones on. She turned her music on as loud as it would go to block him out….

She wouldn't give in and start talking. Not now, not ever. She would never speak to him again for this.

**_Never._**

End Chapter One

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XME: No worries; the Static Shock characters will be in chapter two. 

RNW

And

XME

Signing off!


	2. Solitude

RNW: This story is Co-authored with my Best Friend, XME, who is once again, not with me at the moment….

Thanks to every one who reviewed! It means a lot to us, that people are actually reading it, since most people don't read things with Ocs in them…. And I'd like to personally apologize for any Cheesyness in the story that involves Jade and Ayanna, but sadly, that is how the two of us actually act, sadly…. We are quite cheesy people…..

I'd like to let everyone know that there isn't any Hotstreak bashing in here, but he does make his first appearance…. And more Static charries will be making themselves know to Jade and Ayanna soon enough.

Disclaimer: We don't own Static Shock.

Unpeaceful Dreamers

__

Chapter Two: Solitude

"Dinner time!" Mrs. Corrin called. Ayanna moaned, and slowly dragged herself out of bed. She had been lying there all day, ever since she finished school for the day. She was, supposedly, reading, as it was normal for her to sit in her room reading for hours at a time. In actuality, though, she had zoned out frequently, and where she normally would have finished the book by now, she was still on the first page. She had spent most of the day crying.

Jade had left the day before, and though Ayanna knew it wasn't good to just sit and mope all the time, she hurt too much to do anything else. There was a pain in her chest that wouldn't leave, and it kept her from thinking straight. Every time she thought of Jade she would feel like she was going to cry, and since nearly everything reminded her of Jade in someway or another… Well, let's just say that she cried A LOT.

Having reached the kitchen, she sat down in her chair, gluing a perky smile on her face. Her dad said grace as soon as everyone was there, and no one noticed when she didn't add an "amen" among the chatter of other ones. She couldn't, because there was a lump in her throat that made it nearly impossible to talk.

She took as little food as possible, and then picked at it, eating it very slowly.

They were eating asparagus, muffins, and spaghetti. She took a small portion of spaghetti, and one muffin, but completely ignored the asparagus. She didn't like it, anyway. She would have eaten, but the lump in her throat made it nearly impossible, and made her feel sick when she did.

Her little brother loved muffins. She gave him hers, ate the little amount of spaghetti, and excused herself from the table, saying that she wasn't hungry for dessert. In her room again, she continued to try and read her book. The first sentence was, 'She was gone…'

She was gone.

Jade sat in her room, on top of her futon mat. She had yet to unpack much, other than her computers, and a few other small things here and there. Jade had set up both her main computer, and her laptop on a desk that her father had set up for her.

She was lucky…. In a sense… Her dad wanted her to be happy; that meant, she got the second biggest bedroom, her own bathroom, which attached to her bed room, and both computers in her room, internet access included.

She was currently listening to drowning pool, her new favorite band- her dad hated this music-, and doing a internet search on all the newspapers in Dakota City… something to keep her mind off of Ayanna.

Scrolling down the page, she found a picture that looked slightly interesting. It was something about a guy who had been let out of jail for 'good behavior'.

"Francis Stone, AKA Hotstreak, has once again been released from jail before the end of his twenty year sentence, due to good behavior, and on a recommendation from his anger management councilor." Jade read silently to herself. She picked up her Sesshoumaru plushy, and hugged it, _"What do you think, Sesshoumaru-sama?" _She asked the toy, not once actually opening her mouth… She inspected the picture of the male.

Jade read silently to herself. She picked up her Sesshoumaru plushy, and hugged it, She asked the toy, not once actually opening her mouth… She inspected the picture of the male. 

He had short bright red hair with blond streaks, and was apparently attempting to grow a goatee. His outfit was baggy pants that, even with the belt, hung off his waist, and a tight red shirt.

Leaning back, Jade continued to stare at the picture, _"Wonder why he was in jail?" _She was about to imagine what 'Sesshoumaru-sama' would reply with, when a knocking on bedroom door caught her attention. She reached over and turned off her music, and stared intently at the door.

"Jade, why don't you come out to eat?" Came her father dearest's voice. Jade leaned back again in her seat, and waited…. After not getting a reply, her father tried again, "We could go out to eat if you like…. I mean, it would probably be a good idea for you to get out of the house at least once before you have to start school. You could go to the park…. I know how you like trees, and stuff…"

Jade's blank stare turned into a angry glare, as she picked up the thing closest to her, and threw it at the closed and locked door. It banged against the door, and fell with a thud to the floor. _"Thanks for reminding me that I'm stuck in a stinky, polluting city! And that I'm completely alone!" _Her mind shouted.

She opened her mouth to actually reply, tell him to 'Bite me', but when she tried to speak, she felt this overwhelming fear wash over her… if she spoke, then she lost, right? Then he'd want to know exactly why she was locking herself in her room like this…. She couldn't, no, WOULDN'T tell him anything! Her private- no any of her thoughts, had nothing, NOTHING to do with him.

Finally, her father gave up, and with an exasperated sigh, he left. Jade smirked, and moved to sit with her back completely against the wall.

BackinPennsylvania;

Ayanna couldn't take it anymore. She honestly couldn't go any longer without seeing Jade, or at least having hope of seeing her soon. She knew it was weak to be so dependent on one person, but she couldn't help it- she really DID care about Jade. In fact, she cared about Jade more than anyone or anything, including her family.

She couldn't live with not being able to see her. If she didn't find a way to see her soon, she'd have to do something drastic to stop the pain. Possibly even so far as death. Dying wouldn't be that bad, compared to this- even though she would probably go to whatever form of hell there was for killing herself, if she did.

She stood up and began to pace. There must be some other option. Cutting was out, she had tried that. She would never, NEVER do drugs- even living with pain or dying would be better than living with no future whatsoever.

She had been E-mailing Jade, but it wasn't good enough. It helped, but it didn't stop the ache in her chest. It felt like someone had grabbed something- her heart? That's what people usually termed it- ripped it out, broken it apart, and put it back with some of the pieces.

So her only options were suicide and seeing Jade. She sighed, and slumped down onto her bed. How could she get to see Jade, then? Hitch hiking, possibly- but Jade would kill her if she found out. Still, it would be better than outright killing herself- at least she'd have a chance at surviving.

But any other options would be nice. She thought for a moment. She doubted her mom would send her, so she'd have to run away. She'd need money if she wasn't going to hitch hike- she couldn't walk that far. She had promised not to steal, so she'd need to get a job. It would take her years to earn enough for a plane ticket if she only had her allowance.

Right. So… she'd get a job, earn up some money, then take a plain to Dakota City? But if she couldn't get a job, she'd just have to hitchhike… If she couldn't get one in, say, two weeks or so.

So, the options were now 'take a plane, hitch hike, or commit suicide'… Great.

She decided to attempt to take a plane.

Meanwhile, in Dakota City;

Jade waited till nine, even if her dad wasn't in his room, he would be fast asleep on the couch. Once her alarm clock, which she had gotten out a little bit ago, hit nine o'clock, she slipped out her bedroom door. Sesshoumaru-sama in a black pouch that was attached to her waist by a long dark green ribbon.

She walked down the hall as quietly as she could, trying to avoid stepping on any boards that may creak underneath her weight.

Jade soon found herself in the kitchen. Nothing was unpacked, but as she went through the boxes, she found that they didn't have any food…. Well… they had SOME things, but nothing that interested her….

She peeked into the living room, and sure enough there was her father, fast asleep on the couch, the TV, which was now working, playing Law & Order. She crept into the room, and over to him. His wallet was sitting on the table next to a couple bottles of beer.

Picking it up, she looked at her father, hoping that he wouldn't wake… Seeing that there was nothing that could wake him, she opened the wallet and pulled out forty dollars. _"Looks like we're eating out tonight, Sesshoumaru-sama…" _She thought happily to the plushy, as she stuffed the money in her pocket.

She quickly dashed up to her room, grabbed a coat and put on her shoes. She looked herself up and down, a pair of normal pale blue jeans with various rips, and many patches; her normal hightops, a baggy lavender tye-dyed shirt; and a black cowgirl hat; and her hair was pulled up so you couldn't see it…..

She walked back down stairs, Sesshoumaru-sama held in her arms, as she snuck out the front door, and made her way down the street.

It took a while, but she finally found a place to eat. A small café, with very few people in it… The problem was… how was she supposed to order? She didn't want to talk.. they would want to know who she was, and why she was there… that would lead to more things…. No, talking was completely out of the question… But how would she order then?…

Taking a deep breath, Jade stepped into the café and looked around, she quickly found a small booth in the back, almost unnoticeable. When she sat down, she heard the bell on the front door ring, and her curiosity got the best of her. _"Curiosity killed the cat…" _She could hear her plushy say in her head, even though she knew it wasn't real… _"But satisfaction brought him back." _Was her reply.

She turned in her seat, and saw the boy in the newspaper- what was his name again? It started with an 'F' didn't it? Or was it an 'E'?

Anyway, he turned to look at her, feeling eyes on him, and his emerald eyes locked with her amber ones. As he stared at her, she blushed and turned back around… Maybe he would just ignore her, what reason would he have to talk to her…. Right?

How wrong she was…. He walked over to her, and sat down without saying a word.

Jade sat up straight, and moved to sit on the edge of the seat, if he tried anything, anything at all, she would run.

A waitress came up to them, she looked worn, and tired, not to mention upset…. She was probably just about to get off her shift…. "What do you want to drink?" She asked them, as she set two menus down for them…

Jade blinked, and looked up at the male nervously, if she didn't say anything, then that would cause him to question her… but if she did say anything, he would ask questions too… what was she supposed to do?

She pulled her plushy up, and held it tightly to her chest, while she tried to think….

"A coffee, black. And a coke for her:" The male told the waitress.

Jade looked at him with a confused look on her face, but said nothing, naturally….

The male looked at her, he stared at her for a moment, before finding interest in the menu he had been given.

Jade follow his example and picked up her menu, reading it… She knew what she wanted, but didn't know how she would order. She didn't know any sign language, and the waitress probably didn't either, so it wouldn't have made any difference.

Maybe she could point it out on the menu? No…. The thought of doing that made her blush…. But she refused to speak to any of them! But then how could she do this?

Jade looked over the top of her menu, and at the red head across from her. She couldn't remember his name, but that didn't really matter, she wouldn't speak to him either...

Biting down on her bottom lip, she set down the menu, and looked out the window and out into the dark street.

The male set down his menu, and stared at her, causing her to squirm and blush underneath his gaze. "What are you ordering?" he asked, trying to get rid of the silence.

She turned her amber eyes to him, and just stared at him.

His eyes traveled down to the strange doll that she clutched in her arms, she looked like a little girl that was lost. Maybe she wasn't allowed to speak with strangers? But then, she probably wouldn't be sitting with him either…. "Do you have any idea as to who I am?" He asked.

Jade shook her head weakly, she had a small idea… he had been in jail, and he had been let out early for good behavior, but that was all she remembered. She leaned back in her seat, and stared blankly at the table.

Two drinks were set down in front of them, causing both to look at the waitress. "Are you ordering anything else?" She asked them.

Jade opened her mouth as if she were about to answer, but remembered that she couldn't trust these people, and shut her mouth instantly.

"I want a cheeseburger and a fries…" The red head stated, handing the lady his menu. He looked at Jade expectantly, causing her to, once again, squirm.

Jade picked up her menu again, and glanced at the waitress, before leaning over the table towards the male, and opening it. She pointed to some things, before sitting back down and waiting.

"She'll have cheese burger, and cheese fries." He told the waitress, who nodded and wrote it all down before leaving them alone.

The male looked at Jade, "What's wrong with you? Can't you talk?"

Jade shook her head no…. then yes…. Then no again….. She paused, getting confused, she could physically talk, but did he mean physically, or WOULD she talk?

"Well?" He asked, "Yes, or no. It can't be both." He was starting to sound agitated now, making Jade wince and slid down in her seat, and clutch her plushy tighter.

She shook her head no. Jade sat back, and just listened to his voice…. It was quite calming…. Even though it was angry at the moment. She hoped he would get mad at her. She hated it when people yelled… It made her really nervous, and scared…. Whether they were yelling at her or someone else.

"What's your name?" He asked, leaning back himself.

Jade stared at him for a moment, she couldn't give her name, she didn't know him! It wouldn't be a good idea!…. _"Jade… and you have a really nice voice…" _She thought in reply, though she wouldn't dare say it out loud…

Back in Pennslyvania(again); 

It turned out that a ticket would cost $556 if Ayanna wanted to get to Dakota City from Pennsylvania. She decided that she'd leave in early May, when her aunt and cousin came to visit. They'd be coming in from Oregon, so her family would go to the airport then anyway. That way she wouldn't have to hitchhike; she could just slip off and onto her flight.

The only problem? It was April now- how was she supposed to get six hundred dollars by May? She only made thirty dollars a month in allowance- more than enough under normal circumstances, but even with the seventy dollars she had already, she'd never make enough by then. She would only have a hundred dollars- less than a fifth of what she needed.

So she'd need to get a job. She could probably get a job at the pet store her sister used to work at- Sarah had earned thirty-six dollars a week, so that would be a hundred and forty-four dollars, plus the hundred she'd already have, so that would be... $244. STILL not enough... if she took on a lot of babysitting jobs, she could make that $344, maybe even $400, but that STILL wouldn't be enough.

By that point she'd be working every day before school, plus at school, and then three or four afternoons a week. So she'd have fifteen or twenty hours a week of free time... She could probably make another hundred or so if she did odd jobs around the house and for the neighbors for the next month...

But if that was the case, she'd be doing lots of hard work, all of the time, for a whole month. She'd be exhausted by the time she had enough money... It'd be like boot camp or something! Did she REALLY want to do this...? She mentally cursed, the answer coming to her quicker than she would've liked.

This would be a LONG month...

Back toDakota City;

Jade smiled at the boy, who she had now learned the name off, Francis… They had ate in relative silence… the fact that she didn't speak seemed to make him happy, which in turn made Jade feel joy. She loved making others happy, and had many times gone out of her way to at least try….

Though she had never thought that by her refusal to talk, it would make someone else so happy…. Maybe her father was more happy with her not talking? Would it have made her mother more happy? What about Ayanna, would she had been happy about it?

Part of Jade's mind screamed that her friends and family enjoyed her talking, and that on many occasions had depended on her voice…. Like when Sarah- Ayanna's step sister- had broken down about her Grandfather being in the hospital, and needed Jade to tell her it was okay, that it would be fine, and even to relate in words the feelings that she herself had felt when her own grandfather had been in the hospital….

The other part of her mind, reminded her of all the times she had created awkward silences by saying something that made her and Ayanna laugh, but no one else understood, or the times she had said cold and mean things, causing great pain in the people around her, on the few occasions where she would lose her temper…. Or the times where she would accidentally say something so idiotic or stupid that she would regret it for weeks after…..

When the Waitress took their food away, Jade snatched up the bill that was left behind, before Francis could get his hands on it, not that he had tried to get it.

She placed the money for the food down on the table, and left a couple extra dollars for tip, before nodding her head at Francis, pulling her plushy closer, and standing to leave. She wanted to get home soon, after all it was getting late, and she wasn't sure she would be able to find her way home.

She had left before Francis could say anything more to her, and it took him a while to realize that he hadn't gotten her name….

End Chapter Two….

* * *

RNW: Well, that was Chapter two. I hope everyone liked it…. Now, on to Shout outs….

**_lt. commander richie:_** You were our first reviewer, so a special thanks! And sorry for the whole grammar problem, mostly with the spacebar… We wrote this on XME's computer, and when we sent it to mine, it got a little messed up on the formatting, I hope we did better in this chapter….

_**Kellalor:**_ Thanks! I'm happy you like it.

_**Snake Mistress:**_ EE! You did review! You really do care, Hebi-chan! Don't worry, your romance will be getting in here soon enough, especially if me and XME/Neko-chan get to work on it Wednesday.

_**anacsadder:**_ lol… sorry we didn't get to bashing him in here yet, but we'll try to get some in for you on the next chappie, okay?

_**Moonjava:**_ Awesome! I'm glad you like it more then you thought you would…. To tell the truth, we didn't think it would be working out this well, but it is…. In fact… we never even planned on actually writing this… it was just something we plotted out while bored…..

**RNW**

**And**

**XME**

**Signing off!**


	3. Jobs

RNW: Whoot! I finally have XME WITH me, while I put this up! HAHAHA!…. Yes… so she gets to do the disclaimer.

XME: Disclaimer: We don't own Static Shock or any of the bands mentioned in this chapter. If we did, we would be in the show. Yes. And Hotstreak would be the star.

Chapter three: Jobs

Chapter three:

When Jade got home, the front door was locked, meaning her father had most likely, woken up and gone to bed…. There was no way inside the house… And since her father wasn't starting work until Monday, tonight being Saturday, meaning he most likely unlock the doors till noon the next day.

Looking around, a nervous feeling washed over her, she couldn't sleep outside! _"What now, Sesshoumaru-sama?" _She asked the plushy.

Her eyes trailed from the top of the house to the ground below. She walked around the house, and just hoped that the back door was unlocked… no such luck, her dad had REALLY locked the house up. Jade started to chew nervously on her bottom lip, and she began her search once again….

It took her a few minutes, but she finally noticed a tree, that was placed conveniently near her bedroom window…. She climbed up it, having a little trouble, but managing to get up. She could hear her music still blasting, and her light was on, so she could see once she got higher up. Luckily, her window was unlocked, and just big enough for her to fit through.

Not bothering to change her clothes, or close the window, Jade trudged through the room, turned off her light, turned down her music, and collapsed on the bed, to try and get some sleep.

When she woke the next morning, it was to her father ranting and raving about something or other. From the sounds of it, he had lost his sunglasses, and stepped in something disgusting….. What he could have stepped in, she didn't know, since they had gotten rid of both the dogs, and all their cats, not to mention her rabbit.

Jade loved animals, and had collected a very…. LARGE amount of them, and her father ended up taking care of them in the end. When they moved, he decided that they didn't need the animals taking up space and time, besides, you can't really have that many cats in the city anyway….

She looked over at her window, it was still wide open, letting in a chilly breeze. Jade climbed out of bed, turned her music up louder so that it would block out her father, and walked over to her bathroom, which attached to her room.

After going about the normal morning routine, she walked over to the window, and looked out. She could easily slip in and out of the house every day. Thanks to this, her father wouldn't have to know about her nightly visits to a certain café, which she planned on going back to.

But she needed to be able to afford that, which was something she couldn't do…. Unless she got a job! It would help to take her mind of Ayanna, at least….

Jade looked back at her door, wondering if she should try to calm her father down, _"No."_ She thought to herself, he brought on himself, for once, it had nothing to do with her, and he could deal alone. She was sick of being the one everyone depended on. She had no one to lean on now, so he wasn't getting someone to lean on.

Jade grabbed her backpack, and placed Sesshoumaru-sama inside it, as she climbed out the window, leaving her music on again. Once in the tree, she pulled on a pair of sunglasses, so that she could block out some of the bright light shining down on her.

She tip-toed around the house, ducking carefully underneath the windows, and the running down the street, till she could no longer see her house.

She walked amongst the crowd for awhile, her head phones blasting music loudly in her ears. She looked into windows, looking at jewelry, clothes, and various other things, as she walked down a more shopping-centered area of the city. She bought a newspaper, a soda, and a candy bar, from a cart shop thingy…. She stuffed it all in her bag, and continued on her way.

Jade stopped in front of a store with various paintings, and just stared at them for a moment, her mind traveling to Ayanna, and her Grandfather, both who loved art…. She turned to look away from the artwork, and try and push the thoughts of a happy past away.

As she started to walk, she heard a laugh, that seemed to echo through the crowded street. She looked over, and saw a boy with dark skin, and another boy with blonde hair and glasses, walk out of a CD store, both laughing, the dark skinned boy's arm was around the blonde's waist, while the blonde had his free arm around the darker boy's shoulders.

For a moment, she remembered herself and Ayanna getting into a position like that, in fact they had found themselves in many similar positions. Of course, with these memories, came the awkward feelings she would get when they realized how intimate they looked, when everything they did was meant to be platonic. She shook her head, and continued on her way.

Someone pushed up against her, and for a moment she didn't think much about it, other people had accidentally bumped into her, even though that made her extremely nervous, since she was claustrophobic- or as her and Ayanna had dubbed it 'People-phobic', but she was okay….

Her headphones slipped from her ears, down to rest around her neck, she could just barely hear her music playing loudly….. (It's like I'm paranoid, Looking over my back, It's like a whirl wind inside of my head, It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within, It's like the face inside, Is right beneath the skin!)

The person she bumped into, turned to look at her, an angry glare on his face; as she turned to look at him as well, sensing somehow that he had stopped to glare at her, she paused….. The male that had bumped into her, was Francis…. He couldn't recognize her, that was obvious from the look on his face, but she felt very strange having him see her while she was gothed-out.

"Watch where you're going!" He snapped, before pausing as well…. He knew her… where from, he didn't know, but he did know this girl…..

Jade felt her breath quicken, this wasn't good, this didn't feel right. Rather then gesture a 'sorry' or something to mean 'hi, we talked last night, remember?', she turned tail and ran down the street as quickly as she could.

Francis stood, and watched her go….. That was weird…. Something sparkled from on the pavement. Francis looked down and saw a silver charm laying on the ground. He bent down and picked it up; inside the silver charm was a four leaf clover….

As Jade ran down the street, she knocked into other people, and finally, while her eyes were shut, collided with a strong male body… or TWO male bodies.

The two boys she hit stumbled backwards, while she fell back and landed painfully on her bottom, her backpack falling off her shoulders and spilling some of it's contents.

Jade opened her eyes, to look up at the two boys she had been watching earlier. They stared at her strangely, before they bent down and started to pick up her things, as well as theirs.

"You okay?" The dark skinned one asked her, handing her a book; which Jade instantly shoved into her bag.

"You really should be watching where you are going." The blonde sounded a little more annoyed, but still concerned.

Jade nodded her head, letting them know she was okay, before she picked up Sesshoumaru-sama, and clutched him to her chest with one arm, and shoved other things in her bag with her free one. She stared at them, and started to chew on her bottom lip. _"Please don't let them be mad at me…." _Jade thought to herself.

When the dark skinned boy opened his mouth to say something, Jade bowed her head slightly, before turning and running, again.

Jade turned around a corner, and slowed down; though she continued running until she came to a park, and was out of site. Jade collapsed to her knees, she wasn't used to running so much in one day…. She reached up to touch the charms on her necklace, but paused…. She only had three? Feeling the charms, she realized which one was missing, her four leaf clover…. Her father had given it to her for Saint Patrick's Day last year….

She looked around, maybe it had just fallen from the chain? Not likely, it probably fell when she ran into those boys…. Or maybe when she bumped into Francis? …. What would she do? That was one of her favorite charms!

Jade fell back to lay on the grass, she couldn't hear much City noise from here. HOW there was such a nice place inside a City was beyond her. Jade had never liked Cities, she thought they stank, most people in them always seemed to be snobs, and everything seemed to be closed in, and polluted…. Of course, this was only the fifth time she had actually been in a City.

She might as well have grown up on a farm, compared to all this. She felt like she was being pack jammed into a small room full of people, all talking and making noise, all wanting to make physical contact of some sort, and ALL wanting to ask her questions…. Where was she from, who was she, how old was she, what was her deepest darkest secret?

Jade shivered, at the thought. She sat up, and pulled her bag close. Opening it, she took out Sesshoumaru-sama, and held him tight in her left arm, while she searched inside her bag with her right. Finally she found what she was looking for, the newspaper, candy and her soda. She pulled it out, and looked through the newspaper, while eating her candy.

Ayanna wiped her arm across her face, wiping off the sweat that had collected there. It was amazing how hot someone could get on a cold day if they worked hard enough. Ayanna had been working since dawn, and it was- she checked the clock on the wall- noon now.

She was at the pet shop, where she had managed to score a job. She now DEFINITELY agreed with her sister about this place- when her sister said that this place was evil incarnate she had assumed she was exaggerating, but apparently not. Three/four days a week were WAY too much for someone who babysat twice a week, did all of the neighbors' yard word- at least as much as they could pay for- AND did five hours of schoolwork a day, not to mention her chores, and babysitting her younger siblings when her family went out.

She was working from dawn to dusk every day, leaving her exhausted every night. She had never been very active, resulting in weak muscles and poor sleep, but now she was working so hard she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She woke up aching every morning, and she went to sleep with aching muscles every night. She was actually starting to wonder if suicide might be a better option- she had never been a worker, preferring to sit and read. She was usually as lazy as she could possibly get away with- this life was MISERABLE.

But at least she would see Jade soon, right? She only had to do this for a couple weeks, and then it would be over. Although, she would have to get some sort of job when she got there, too. And even then, if she got caught, she would be sent straight back home. Maybe her parents would have mercy on her, once they saw how desperate she was? No, her mom was too selfish that way; she wouldn't let her stay in Dakota.

And besides, who would give her a job with no references? She'd end up living on the streets! She had heard too many stories of that sort of thing to want to be left to that life.

But even if that happened, she might as well do this and see Jade again, even just this once, before she died, right? Ayanna slumped down on the floor, hiding her face with her hands. Why go through all this? She was tired. All she wanted to do was sleep.

But then there was Ja-

"AYANNA!" A voice shrieked, knocking her out of her thoughts. "Where are you? You'd better be working on cleaning out those cages, or Lord help me-!" Ayanna jumped up and quickly returned to what she had previously been doing.

"I'm WORKING on it!" She called back, interrupting the voice mid-phrase. This whole thing would be so much easier if her boss wasn't such a witch. Couldn't she take it just a little bit easier on Ayanna? After all, this was her first job, and she was having a hard enough time of it as it was. But no, her boss just HAD to be a neat freak and a perfectionist- as long as she wasn't the one trying to be perfect or neat, of course.

She was lazy, too, always giving Ayanna the worst jobs- cleaning out the restrooms and the cages, taking out the dead fish and the trash, taking the animals out so the customers could see them. The last one didn't sound so bad, but Ayanna's poor, scratched up arms were proof that, A: It wasn't easy, as B: the animals were cruel, sadistic beings that loved to scratch poor, defenseless employees.

And to make it all worse, she'd get home and have to do four hours of school, then go to Japanese class, and then she'd have to go and baby-sit three kids for six hours. Three loud, annoying, trouble making kids, nonetheless. Oh, well, tomorrow would be better.

She'd be watching some better-behaved kids then, at least. And no pet-shop work! Only a few hours worth of digging...

Maybe she should just hitchhike...

After calming down, Jade packed her stuff back up, and started to walk around the city again. This time, with something to look for….a job. She looked at many shops, and found several places that would hire her, if she filled out an application….

By the time she got home, it was getting dark, her backpack was filled with applications, and she had to carry Sesshoumaru-sama around in her arms again, not that she minded.

It was getting to dark to see out, so she finally took off her sunglasses, and let them rest on top of her head. When she got to the house, the lights down stairs were all on. She could see her father walking into the living room through a window.

Sneaking around the house, Jade was once again, able to get inside unnoticed. As she climbed through her bed room window, she was met with the music of Drowning Pool yet again. Jade dumped her bag on the floor, and went over to her bed. She got out her CDs and changed it to Linkin Park.

As much as she loved Drowning Pool, she didn't want to completely wear out the CD…. After taking off her shoes, and grabbing Sesshoumaru-sama, she left her room, and for the first time since they had moved in, she went down stairs while her father was awake.

Jade's dad sat on the couch in the living room, looking through a couple boxes… She leaned into the room, being careful not to be noticed… He was looking through pictures…. What of, she didn't know, but probably pictures of her mother, since he was almost in tears.

Jade pulled herself out of the room, and leaned against the wall. Guilt found it's way through her. How could she do this to her father? Even after all this… He only wanted the best for her, and all she had done to repay him was to treat him like a horrid, horrid monster….

"_Maybe I should talk to him?" _Jade thought to herself, as she peeked back into the room real quickly. '**_Everyone thinks he's just a bully! But he has a soft side too! You should have seen the look on his face when he told Static about when he was little, and had lived in the hospital for TWO YEARS! It was so sad!' _**These words flew through her head, and caused an unimaginable pain to hit her hard. Jade grabbed her head, and slid down to sit on the floor, she bit down on her bottom lip, before a groan of pain could slip out.

"Jade, is that you?" Her father asked, from the living room. The sound of him walking across the room, and towards her, brought Jade back to reality.

Jade jumped to her feet, and dashed up the stairs. She could hear her father at the bottom of the steps, as she made her way to her room.

"Jade?" He asked, not bothering to go up the stairs. He let out a sigh after not getting a reply. Turning on his heel, Mr. Tailor walked back into the living room.

When Jade had sworn never to speak to him again, he hadn't thought that she was serious. After all, she had never done something like this for this long…. But he couldn't blame her, could he?

He had moved her away from everyone she knew and loved, and it killed him to know that she hated him…. He didn't have a choice though…. Staying there, in that house, was killing him inside….

Now, as he looked through the pictures, he was reminded of how much the two most important women in his life, were truly alike. They had the same eyes, the same smile and the same personalities for the most part. Yeah, Jade was a little like him, but she was more her mother.

She had the same problems with speaking in public, the same problem with shyness, with social-anxiety-disorder. There was no doubt, that Jade truly was her mother's daughter.

Mr. Tailor leaned back and rested on the couch, a frown on his face, as he remembered the two females fighting jokingly at each other. They would rarely actually fight, and when they did, it was about school…..

**_"Smart alec!" _**

"**_Just remember mom, I'm just like you in every way." _**He smiled at the words, he had heard them many times….

"_**Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" **_

"_**Oh, shut up, mom!" **_

Mr. Tailor's eyes started to close, and soon, he was fast asleep….

Jade slipped out of her bedroom window. She had decided against the cowgirl hat, and used some spray on hair dye that she had bought last Halloween. She hadn't gotten all of her hair, she knew that, but most of it was black….. Other then the roots and the bottom layer.

Jade climbed down the tree. Once on the ground she looked her outfit over quickly. A pair of blue jeans, her normal boots but she had painted over the green buckles with red paint; a red tank top, a red headband to hide the purple crescent moon she had done with marker, and, of course, Sesshoumaru-sama.

She had managed to get some more money, thank the Lord and Lady that her father had fallen asleep on the couch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to sneak into his room, and take another forty bucks.

She wondered silently to herself, how long would it take before he noticed that she kept taking money from him? Probably not long, since this was the last forty….

It didn't take long to get to the café, but it did take a while for her to get the guts up to go in again…. Maybe he had recognized her, and just hadn't said anything? No. She wouldn't think to much into this. She had come here for a reason! She planned on going along with that reason!…. Or maybe she could just eat somewhere else, and come back afterwards? Maybe around, oh say, tomorrow morning?

"_Coward." _She could hear Sesshoumaru-sama say to her, making her pout.

_"I'm not a coward! I just… don't want him to get mad at me…" _Jade shot back.

"_That makes you coward. One that this Sesshoumaru is ashamed to know." _The plushy replied, speaking just like he would in the show.

Jade let out a sigh, this was getting weird now! She just had an argument with a inanimate object….. Maybe she was really losing it, it was bad enough when it came back with small replies, but when it started to reply without her wanting it too, that was just weird.

Jade wondered if the things her father got mad at spoke back to him too, as she walked into the café. She glanced around, not seeing Francis, she went and sat down at the same booth as last night. Deciding that she wanted him to know her as something, she got out a piece of paper from her pocket, and a marker that always seemed to be with her; and started to write down various nicknames that she had come to be known as since the age of eight.

Francis walked into the Café, looking for the girl he had seen the night before. His eyes locked on the booth she had been sitting at, and saw a girl with black hair, and pale skin, writing on a piece of paper…. He didn't think it was the girl he was looking for, until he noticed the plushy doll in her arms.

A smirk on his face, Francis walked over and sat down across from her, "Hey."

The girl looked up at him, and smiled brightly at him, something she hadn't allowed herself to do the night before. He still hadn't learned her name, and from the looks of it, he wouldn't be learning it any time soon….

Jade looked down at the paper, making sure she had all the ones that she could think of, before reaching out to hand him the paper.

Francis took it, and looked it over curiously. _'Serena, Ivy, Okami, Rin, Kia, Jade, Jazz, Rahne, Rain, Willow, Angelica, Raven, Rhiannon, Nicole, Kayla, Crysta, Jubilee, Rogue, Wanda, Scarlet, Faye,' _And the list went on and on. He turned it over, there were four more names on the back…. And from the look on the girl's face, she had forgotten some, and wanted to write them down, but wouldn't take the paper from him. "These can't all be your name." He stated.

Jade shook her head no, but took the paper, and on the back she wrote something else, and handed it back to him.

Francis turned the paper over and read, _"Nicknames, pick 1, I answer 2 all of them." _He frowned, this would be hard to choose. What should he call her?… He looked her over, his eyes locked on the black stripes on her cheeks, two on each side, "Stripes." He said out loud.

Jade tilted her head to the side, and blinked, _"Stripes? That's not on the list…Is it?" _She wondered to herself.

"I'll call you Stripes." Francis nodded to himself, pleased with the nickname. Before Jade, or 'Stripes' could reply, he spoke again, "What do you say we go somewhere else?"

Stripes/Jade looked at him a little uncertainly…. But then her eyes studied the Café for a moment, maybe it would be a good idea? She looked at him again, and nodded her head.

Francis smirked, and stood up, he walked out of the café, with Stripes/Jade next to him.

End Chapter.

RNW: We would do the Shouts Outs too, but we're totally zonked, so thanks to everyone for reviewing! Means loads ta us! And PLEASE review for this one too!

RNW and XME


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